Spoiler QnA for April (Patreon)

For Romanced!Steel. At one point did Chen’s opinion evolve from growing understanding/empathy to actual attraction? 

Sometime during Retribution, probably during one of the dog park meetings.

Did Step’s venture into his mind influence him to make the choice to sleep with them in any way? With something like that, especially with how intimate and personal it is, I can’t imagine that it *didn’t* have any effect. Or was he silently hoping that something might happen when he invited them to his home?

It's a question of intimacy on both counts. Chen had made that decision before he let Sidestep into his mind.

What does Chen like about Ricardo? When and why did he start falling for him? What did he see in Ricardo that made the transition from ‘trusted friend’ to ‘crush?’ 

The crush came way before the friendship. Chen got interested right when they met that first time in the hospital when they were both doing rehab from their injuries. Apart from Ortega being objectively hot, there was just an instant attraction to that stubborn, won't give up, won't lie down attitude and humor about what had happened to him.  Of course Chen later learned how annoying that stubbornness could also be...

Has Argent ever asked her ‘passengers’ what they think of Step after getting to know them? Especially if she’s on good terms with/romancing them?

Oh she doesn't need to ask. She knows.

Has Argent ever tried having actual conversations with the nanovores? Do the nanovores themselves have a sense of morality? Or are they just mirroring Argent’s own set of beliefs?

That's going to be a thing to find out.

Can we make Shroud regret everything if she tried to eat them, considering the sheer amount of pain, fear, despair, and trauma Sidestep has? I want to know if we can actually make her sick for trying: I can’t imagine Step would be tasty, or go down without leaving some serious (mental) scars on Shroud.

See, all of this would depend on whether Shroud also gets the emotional residue of the memories or only the hard facts. 

What’s the PCV stand for in the hidden stats? What about the Ranger doubts? I think I might’ve misunderstood what they were.

PCV is puppet comfort value, how much at ease you feel inside the puppet's body. Ranger doubts are how much the Rangers are starting to doubt that they are on the right side of history. 

In the world of FHR, how would the world re-classify Re-Genes if the truth about them came out- and they, in fact, aren’t the emotionless humanoid tools used for war that everyone thought they were? Humans? Would they be legally defined as cyborgs due to their microchip + biological brain? Sentient AI/Androids?  Maybe even just straight up robots? I feel like there’d be a lot of thin lines to slice when it comes to redefining what Re-Genes *are,* especially since they would be killed if their chip was removed. 

That is a good question. None of the classic definitions really apply. Right now, they are legally defined as AI/Robots, and thus have no human rights. It will depend a lot on how the truth comes out, they might be redefined as enhanced humans (essentially mods), or a new category of non-human intelligence might need to be made. Historically, humanity has been very reluctant to accept that any other species might share their "special" status.

Did Chen and Ricardo ever get any bad vibes from Argent due to her nanovores? Especially since they’re both mods? 

Nope. None.

What would each of the Rangers have done if they knew Step was a Re-Gene, but nobody else on the team knew? Steel kept quiet, watching and adding up things… what about the rest? 

Ortega is good at keeping secrets, would never have told a soul. Daniel would have had a hard time keeping it quiet for long, not by telling people, but rather than become actively involved in Re-Gene advocacy. Argent would have told nobody.

Why is Jake so averse to getting a code name and suit? 

He finds it slightly embarrassing. He'd feel too self-conscious. He really doesn't get why everyone else can't see that.

On another note, while Jake does love Nocturne and HG, does he ever feel like he’s limited his life to them? 

No, he's pretty content. And it's not as if he's made any promises, this is all voluntary, and he has his own dalliances on the side.

If the three were separated and scattered from each other, who would Jake prioritize finding and saving first? 

Nocturne.

Was there anything at the Farm that could (temporarily) remove Re-Gene tattoos? I understand that Infiltrators have to pass off as human, but surely the staff had to have something to briefly camouflage or remove those tattoos if exposure was a huge risk on certain missions for their Re-Genes? 

No.

This might seem like an odd question, but is Sidestep made from genetic components that… *aren’t* entirely human?

Yes. The AI chip.

Are there any limitations on what Argent can “eat”? 

Organic matter only.

Step has Re-Gene tattoos all over their body, but where do they end?

The clear areas are: Face, neck and collarbones. Hands and lower arms. Feet and lower legs. Genitals.

What was HG’s opinion on the major villains like Psychopathor, Void, and/or The Crack?

Psychopathor is reasonable, and can be dealt with as an (almost) equal. The Void was a massive threat and needed to be removed at any cost. The Crack was useful.

What happened to the people HG first used their powers on without realizing it?

Nothing much, they were friendly and cooperative and did what they should. The first time HG realized was probably in combination with a hissed threat like "Go away" at the same time as they pushed them or similar.

Did Bo work for The Crack?

In a way, yeah.

What would HG trio’s powers look like if they were alpha level?

HG would be able to do what they do at a distance, not needing touch. Nocturne is harder to predict, possibly affecting other senses as well, maybe even making her practically invisible instead. Jake is very close already, just needs more training.

Sidestep can recall Catastrofiend used to give them glimpses they didn’t want to see and taunt them with insights they wanted to avoid, did something similar happen between HG and Catastrofiend?

Oh yes.

If they had a close relationship, what would HG's opinion be on the different villain bases Sidestep can have? 

Anything but the luxury base would be met with a fond chuckle. Like... why choose to live like that?

Idk if this was asked before but will we ever get tia Elena's reaction/opinion on Sidestep being a regene and villain?

In some paths, most definitely.

Has Hollow Ground ever tried to thread the Catastrofiend? 

Of course.

What was it about the jazz music playing at Joes the first time we go as puppet that made us feel so ill at ease? Was it actually Step responding to it or Ace?

Ace.

Can Shroud's powers be used on a corpse to gain information from just before they died or does it only work on the living?

Only the living.

In the puppet/Catastrofiend auction scene, it's implied that Catastrofiend recognized Step's mind but not the body they were possessing. This is true even with a mirror_image puppet (which I assume looks very similar but not completely identical to Step). Does this mean Catastrofiend knows what Step looks like? If so, how does it know what Step looks like? Did it see them unmasked? Can it see through/past the mask? Or can it see them via telepathic means?

It knows what Sidestep tastes like.

Are regenes often given "childhood" memories?

Yes, it is part of the standard package to help with mental stability.